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Mcm6574 character generator ic

I have also had to replace this part recently (in a Processor Technology VDM-1 board). I found the MCM66740 is a drop in replacement for the MCM6574 - even though it doesn’t seem it would be at first glance. Presently a seller has a number of them for sale on eBay. I bid $6.00 each for three pieces and he accepted.

Mike
 
deramp5113 said:
I have also had to replace this part recently (in a Processor Technology VDM-1 board). I found the MCM66740 is a drop in replacement for the MCM6574 - even though it doesn’t seem it would be at first glance. Presently a seller has a number of them for sale on eBay. I bid $6.00 each for three pieces and he accepted.

Mike
Click to expand...

Just ordered some myself. Figure I have enough Sol-20 and VDM-1 boards to justify having a few around.

Cheers,
Corey
 
Hi,

Great to find a ROM with an identical character set.

I'm a little baffled on how it could be a drop in replacement, for example on the 66740 pin 1 is /CS3, pin 3 /CS4, pin 10 /CS1 and pin 14 /CS2. With the 6574 they are VBB,VDD,N/C & N/C respectively. I don't have the Sol mobo out of the case currently to check the connections that are N/C, but I checked a VDM-1 board, and pin 10 for example is N/C, which would leave that /CS1 pin floating on the 66740, when it should be tied high. So ideally that should be done on the VDM/1 board and possibly, the Sol or an adapter made. Pin 14 on the VDM-1 also looks N/C on the pcb. Also I have not checked the implications of the other /CS pins vs the voltages applied to VBB & VDD. So as you say the 66740 may work just plugged in for the 6574, but there could still be issues..worth checking.
 
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Hugo Holden said:
I'm a little baffled on how it could be a drop in replacement, for example on the 66740 pin 1 is /CS3, pin 3 /CS4, pin 10 /CS1 and pin 14 /CS2. With the 6574 they are VBB,VDD,N/C & N/C respectively. I don't have the Sol mobo out of the case currently to check the connections that are N/C, but I checked a VDM-1 board, and pin 10 for example is N/C, which would leave that /CS1 pin floating on the 66740, when it should be tied high. So ideally that should be done on the VDM/1 board and possibly, the Sol or an adapter made. Pin 14 on the VDM-1 also looks N/C on the pcb. Also I have not checked the implications of the other /CS pins vs the voltages applied to VBB & VDD. So as you say the 66740 may work just plugged in for the 6574, but there could still be issues..worth checking.
Click to expand...

Yes, these are the exact concerns I had that led to my comment above: that at first it didn't seem it could work as a replacement. However, when I finally found the full datasheet in a Motorola databook (I have extracted both datasheets and posted at http://deramp.com/downloads/processor_technology/sol-20/hardware/), it became clear that the 66740, and several other 667xx parts, are direct replacements for several of the 657x parts.

These parts are mask ROMs and the chip selects be set to 0, 1, or "no-connect." On page 2-121 of the 667xx data sheet it states that in all the standard part numbers of the 667xx series (other than the 66751), all four chip select pins are set to no-connect. I verified the no-connect when I received the part. I can find no connection - including any intrinsic diode - between the chip select pins and any other pins on the part.

On page 2-130 of the 667xx data sheet is a table that maps 657x parts to 667xx parts.

Mike
 
deramp5113 said:
On page 2-121 of the 667xx data sheet it states that in all the standard part numbers of the 667xx series (other than the 66751), all four chip select pins are set to no-connect. I verified the no-connect when I received the part. I can find no connection - including any intrinsic diode - between the chip select pins and any other pins on the part.

Mike
Click to expand...

Mike, That is great, Thanks!
 
For what it's worth, MCM 6571s are available from Quest Components for substantially less than what Kevin is asking for them. 6571's have a slightly different character map than the 6574, but otherwise should be pinout compatible.

regards,
Mike Willegal
 
mwillegal said:
For what it's worth, MCM 6571s are available from Quest Components for substantially less than what Kevin is asking for them. 6571's have a slightly different character map than the 6574, but otherwise should be pinout compatible.

regards,
Mike Willegal
Click to expand...

Yes, the 6751 is very similar and is used in the Polymorphic video board. I had spare 6571's laying around and used one to prove the 6574 was truly the problem in a Sol-20. The character map above 0x20 is basically the same, however, the control characters (0x00-0x1F) are different. Many of the cool games on the Sol-20 (and their VDM-1 board as part of Subsystem B) use the control characters as graphics or sprites that get moved around, so the games don't look right with the 6571.

Mike
 
The Sol manual lists the MCM6575 as an alternate ROM. Did any actually ship with that character generator?
 
ef1j91 said:
The Sol manual lists the MCM6575 as an alternate ROM. Did any actually ship with that character generator?
Click to expand...

Don't have any facts to support my guess, but while they might have shipped the 6575 in the earliest days of the Sol-20, once software starting popping up for the Sol-20 (especially games...), the 6574 was a "requirement."

Mike
 
Myself and others are really hoping we could find Objective Designs Star Wars program, which was released for the Altair back in 1978 or thereabouts. But the thing about it is that it's just a demo of the capabilities of Objective Design's Programmable Character Generator.
This was an S -100 card could be used with the Processor Tech VDM or SOL, Polymorphic Systems VTI, Solid State Music Video Board, and other video boards using the Motorola family of 9 x 7 matrix generators (MCM 6574-6).
If anyone knows where we could find the program but also the S-110 PCG, it would be a great addition to the history of computer gaming.
Thanks!
 
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